As the Athletics embark on the last month of the 2024 season — their last season playing in the city of Oakland — they could be doing so with a familiar face.
Before Tuesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters that 2020 Turlock High graduate Tyler Soderstrom had been making progress in his strengthening program and is nearing a rehab assignment, which could come as early as this week.
Soderstrom has not played since July 9 when he went 1-for-5 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Two days later, the A’s placed him on the 10-day injured list with a bone bruise in his left wrist. He was sent back to Oakland that day to undergo further testing when it was revealed he had suffered a stress reaction. Kotsay expressed relief at the test results, which he described as “the best-case scenario.”
The 22-year-old first baseman remained with the big league club throughout his inactivity, seen in the dugout during games donning a splint. Last Monday, he began his scheduled strengthening program, and on Wednesday, began playing catch. MLB.com reported Monday that the former Bulldog had begun hitting off a tee over the weekend and is slated to a soft-toss hitting program in the coming days.
Soderstrom, the 26th overall pick by the A’s in the 2020 MLB Draft, was coming off a sizzling June before the injury put his season to an abrupt halt. That month, the Turlocker had 20 hits, including six home runs and a pair of doubles, drew six walks and drove in 13 runs. In his sophomore campaign, he has played in 49 games, batting .219 with seven home runs and 20 RBI. He is batting .192 with 10 homers and 27 RBIs in 94 games over parts of the last two seasons since making his MLB debut on July 14, 2023.
Coming into Wednesday, the A’s have 30 games left in the regular season, including 13 at the Oakland Coliseum. The final game at the iconic venue is Sept. 26 against the Texas Ranger. The team wraps up the 2024 season in Seattle on Sept. 29.
The team currently has a 56-76 record, the fifth-worst record in all of baseball.
Orioles release Nick Avila
Former Turlock High hurler Nick Avila finds himself as a free agent this week after being released by the Baltimore Orioles on Monday morning.
Avila’s release comes a week after he was designated for assignment by the O’s, which was a direct result of the club adding pitcher Cole Irvin to their 40-man roster.
In Baltimore’s minor league system, the 27-year-old Avila struggled mightily after recovering from a right shoulder impingement that he had suffered while still under contract with the San Francisco Giants.
The Orioles claimed Avila off release waivers from the Giants on June 17. A month later, the right-hander was sent on a rehab assignment to High-A Aberdeen to build back from the shoulder ailment. There, he gave up two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings over six games. Avila was then sent to Triple-A Norfolk, where gave up 10 runs while recording just four outs over three appearances.
It was a stark contrast to what the 2015 THS graduate delivered last season in Triple-A and earlier this year in the big leagues. In 2023, Avila was named Triple-A Sacramento’s Pitcher of the Year after allowing just three earned runs per game and striking out 64 batters over 72 innings of work.
Avila finally broke into the big leagues with the Giants back on April 1, becoming the eighth alumnus of Turlock High School to appear in Major League Baseball. In eight games with San Francisco, he had a 8.49 ERA on 17 hits and 3 walks while punching out 14 in 11 2/3 innings pitched.
